I saw a neat wedding idea at The Albany Country Club this weekend for place cards. Every place card created to assign guest seating to the appropriate tables had a face on it. The fun thing about the picture place cards was the choice of pictures. Most of them were photographs of the guest at a very young age.
At first glance, I thought to myself, “this must have taken forever to organize!” Between playing songs, I always investigate new ideas for my readers. I am the Sherlock Holmes of DJs.
The maid of honor told me it was actually easier than the finished product may have looked.
What her and the bride did was creep Facebook for a bunch of old pictures. She said they found a bunch of the younger shots this way and filled in the missing pictures with funny pics that nobody would expect. In a few cases where there wasn’t much of anything to pull from, they just simply messaged the person and requested a picture, keeping it TOP SECRET, and not revealing the reason for the request. The bride said, “we need a picture of you when you were a kid for a surprise we are working on for the wedding.” That was it.
Another twist to this already interesting twist on place cards is to print the cards out and actually mount the place setting onto business card magnet stock. This way, your guests will want to keep the card as a keepsake and put it on their refridgerator when they get home.
If you are planning an outside wedding and are really into the rustic crafty country look, I just did a wedding at Lakeside Farms Pavillion in Ballston Lake, NY. The bride and groom really got into the theme and did a super job. Here are a few of their crafty little ideas.
MESSAGE TABLECLOTHS – This bride and groom wanted a crafty feel for their wedding, so in addition to making their own flowers they used nicely decorated brown paper for their tablecloths. Then, they actually wrote each guests name on the place setting and encouraged their guests to write messages of well wishes on their tables throughout the night.
Tea Candles
Burlap Runners
Provide Crayons for Guests To Write With
Guests Write Messages on The Tablecloth
At the end of the reception, they rolled up the messages like giant scrolls with the intent to publish all of the messages on their special wedding web site that they had created for the event.
Custom Wedding Photo Backdrop
CUSTOM CRAFTY PHOTO BACKDROP – This next idea is very novel and acts as both decor and entertainment. My bride and groom also created and painted their own custom backdrop for photos, borrowing from the photobooth idea. The difference here is it had their names, the wedding date and other important tidbits splattered all over it
What this couple decided to do to create their custom backdrop was to make a tri-fold chalkboard-looking bacadef by hinginging three pieces of plyboard together. The boards were painted in black and decorated by white writing and designs.
To add to the entertainment value of this decoration, they also left a box of silly costume accessories and props for the guests to use while posing in front of their creation. Some things in the box included feather boas, crazy hats and even costume jewelry.
Finally, they strategically placed their crafty backdrop in a corner and let the fun begin.
Mini Chalk Board Table Signs with Flowers
CREPE PAPER FLOWERS EVERYWHERE – Who says you need to spend a fortune on flowers? The crafty bride and groom at this particular wedding made all of their own flowers out of pink and white crepe paper. It was really quite impressive.They covered the whole pavillion with baskets bouquets and bunches of these decorations, and even hung massive ones form the rafters. Any flat surface was subjected to the pink and white attack.
Each flower was different. Some were solid colors, other were multi-colored. Some flower arrangements were tiny and placed and displayed in baskets, while others where giant blooms were attached to actual tree branches!
What a great idea! Below is a video on how to actually make a crepe paper flower, yourself. Enjoy!
I have noooooo idea where this mustache craze is coming from, but mustaches are back! I asked a few photographers to send me some of their more fun shots for a series I am doing for my Troy Record Party Planning Column and this is the first image request to come back. That’s right. Facial hair under the nose looks to be the new trendy fashion statement for weddings in 2013. What is the world coming to?
2013 Mustache Weddings are HOT!
Why have I seen fake mustaches at three different weddings in the past two months? What does this all mean? Well, I am actually not sure. The above picture was shot and is being used by persmission from local photographer Albany NY Photographer, Keira Lemonis. Ask her and maybe she will know! Here is a sampler platter of her work:
2013 Mustache Weddings are HOT!
What I have been seeing is fake mustaches just randomly being supplied as a party favor at various weddings. When in doubt, add mustache…
We had the fortune of being asked to DJ for The Northeast Kidney Foundation’s 2013 Walk fundraiser at The Crossings in Colonie, NY on June 91th, 2013.
Good people came out once again for the good cause.
The event featured a boat load of entertainment including, a kids zone featuring Kizmet and her balloon-twisting clown friends, Sidney the Kidney, pony rides and games; Battlezone Laser Tag and a 50/50 and the one strike dunk tank.
If you would like to make an additional donation, please contact Carol LaFleur at 518-533-7880, or by emailing carol@healthykidneys.org
Northeast Kidney Foundation Walk 2013 – The Crossings,
This time, the setting was The Crossings of Colonie (South Pavilion), 580 Albany Shaker Rd, Loudonville, NY. It was a 2.5 Mile Family Fun Walk. Despite the fact that the weather has been weird lately with hot, cold, rain and sun, things turned out pretty well.
2013 Easter Seals Walk Fundraiser
The sponsors came out again with generous giveaways and fun activities. It felt like a fair for the people who showed up between 11-1:30 pm or so with fun, food and a great family atmosphere. We at TheDJservice.com provided a nifty blend of pop music and classics, along with directions and ll to keep things flowing nicely.
We mic’ed a great opening speech before the race with a number of Easter Seals staff and community members on hand, as well as a fourth grade string ensemble that played the National Anthem and also music to start the walk. Sponsors such as Century 21, CVS, Resultz Zumba Dancers, Corporate Wellness Solutions, Amway, Albany Massage Therapy Association, Aflac, Pitbull Kissing Booth, Bub Kat Bounce, and Mass Mutual among others all threw into the hat for this great cause.
Before registration, the kids had a great time with BubKat’s Bouncy Inflatable fun, hot dogs on the grill, and The Pitbull Kissing Booth.
During the opening ceremony, however, we watched as an ominous dark cloud of doom inch it’s way toward our party. However, the lurking evil did not strike fear into the determined hearts of our bunch! As fate would allow, we were able to get everything in on my speaker system just before the air horn sounded to open the walk. (After the walk began, a rain sprawl came in, forcing me to run my electrical gear out of harm’s way. Fifteen minutes or so wasn’t enough, however, to scare any walkers home!)
That is right! A little water didn’t stop our walkers. Records at the time of this posting show that $14,834.16 were raised in donations and walk pledges!
While the walk may haves began with a wet start, the rain subsided quick enough to allow comfortable strolling for all!
It is not impossible, sometimes, to book that DJ that you had your heart set on when looking at a small venue.
Today, sound systems have become smaller, more efficient and spacial-wise EVEN BETTER.
More and more we are seeing that bride and grooms like to show individuality by booking their favorite hangouts as the place-to-be for their destination wedding. At a recent wedding taking place at The Lodge At Saratoga Raceway, we were posed with a tight DJ set up, in order to utilize the hardwood flooring effectively.
If we set up anywhere other than where we had, it would have infringed on the possibility of a full dance floor experience. Therefore, we had to improvise.
Setting on the staircase was tight, but we aim to please. This opened up the entire dinning room minus tables and created an ample enough space for the night to rock! Our makeshift dance floor was instantaneously transformed to keep the party pumping into midnight!
